Shocking News

Saturday morning November 28th I saw an animal control truck with flashing lights driving by my house. "Oh no" I thought "they picked up the Pit Bulls from the house up the road."
The people living in the house had totally trashed it but had taken pretty good care of their dogs in the past. But now I was worried so I got in my car and drove up to the house that is now in complete disarray. Broken windows, trash everywhere, the railing on the porch is broken, the porch light ripped out of the socket etc. I knocked at the door, but there was no answer. I went back to the back yard and went inside and saw the dogs on the porch. Thinking that there were still people in the house I left because I felt I was trespassing. But when I went back to my car one of the dogs called Snickers came running to the gate and started to bark. Still there was no sign of life from insied the house.
I noticed that the dog looked really skinny and went back inside and around to the porch, were the other one named Cici lay, completely emaciated with a new born puppy!!!!!!
The night before it had snowed for the first time in the mountains!!
They only had two filthy blankets and there was a broken aquarium and broken glass everywhere. I grapped the puppy and put the dogs into my car. They had completely abandoned the dogs!!!

My new room mate Sheila from MuttmatchLA and I went back later to see if there were any more puppies, but thank God there weren't. The front door was unlocked and we went inside. My God you cannot imagine how it looked there. Trash everywhere, holes in the wall, just chaos. And then we heard a sweet meow and a gorgeous cat came running to us. We took her and left.
So now here we are, with two Pit Bulls, a puppy and a new cat. It is very overwhelming to say the least. And Snickers turned out to be deaf.
Needless to say I am over my head. Financially it is a big responsability because of the vet care that the dogs will need.

Any help of any kind would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Upcoming 3rd Bingo Fundraiser

We are having another Bingo night fundraiser at Hamburger Mary's October 21st at 7pm at Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood. We will have fabulous prizes, a live auction and Leslie Jordan from "Will and Grace" will be our Bingo host for the night.

It will be a lot of fun so please come!!!

Funds are desperately neede to cover all the medical expenses we had. Fernando needed a very expensive treatement for aspergillus, a very rare fungal infection in the nose.

It looks as if he is finally doing better but he is still under observation, since this fungus is very hard to get rid off.

Paw Parent also has a new helper. Bob Linden! Some of you might have heard of him or heard him on his vegan radio show.

Bob is no living here at Paw Parent and is helping with the care of the animals.

He is doing a wonderful job and all the animals love him!

We still are in need of volunteers or fosters though. The cats definitley could use more human attention.

There is one in particular, Tom, who is still very afraid of people and does not enjoy the pleasure of being petted. He and his brother Jerry came from a feral mother that got killed by a car.

Now Jerry is a total purr machine and loves all the attention he can get. He is so sweet and adorable and absolutely gorgeous!!! He is so ready for his new forever home!

Please call Paw Parent at: 661-724-0642 if you can want to volunteer or be a foster.

If you want to donate please click on the donate button on our web site.

Thank you so much and I hope I see you at Bingo!!!

Finally the kennel license and a new menagerie of cats and dogs!

It has been ages since the last entry. Time flies and there is just always too much to do.

We are proud to report that Paw Parent finally got its kennel license. The kennels look great and the inspector gave us a grade "A"!

It didn't take long to fill the first kennels. Paw Parent took in a few dogs from a horrible hoarding situation in the desert. Over 200 dogs were kept on the property, over 60!!! of them in the house. I always had heard about the horrible stench in the houses of hoarders but nothing prepared me for the reality of it. And I thought I was tough!! Not so tough after all apparently. I made it about 3 feet into the house and started an internal struggle with myself. I saw several people in the house frantically trying to catch dogs and I kept telling myself: "If they can do it you can." I really tried but I had to turn around and get out as fast as I could.

I resigned myself to cleaning up poop outside and filling up water bowls with fresh water.

I ended up taking 3 dogs that day: a Sheltie mix, a Tibetan Terrier mix and a Jack Russell mix.
All of them horrified of people. Ziggy the Tibetan Terrier is the only one that lets me pet him. He stank so bad I had to give him several baths.

To this day the Sheltie mix and the Jack Russell mix don't let me touch them. I spend as much time with them as possible and they are slowly getting used to me. The Sheltie mix actually started to sniff my hand and I even got a few little licks. But he won't let me pet him.

I wonder how much longer it will take.

The Jack Russell mix already found a home through another rescuer that is helping with the hoarding situation. I will transport him to L.A. next week.

We have not named the 2 dogs yet and actually have a contest to name the Sheltie mix, the still nameless dog.

For a $20 donation you can participate and win a bottle of wine if your name gets chosen.

You can click on the donate button on our web site to participate or send a check to:

Paw Parent c/o Esther Hall

520 N Croft Ave. #118

West Hollywood, CA 90048

Every penny is very much needed. All the dogs taken from that property are not spayed or neutered.

Paw Parent also took in a fabulous dog from a small shelter in Wasco, north of Bakersfield.

Felina, a is a 2 year old Shepherd mix and a sweet heart of a dog was covered in ticks. Unfortunately one of the tick bites got infected and she is now treated for an abscess. She also still needs to get spayed.

Then there are Tom and Jerry, the Grey Tabby kittens, whose feral mother got killed by a car.

Kind and caring people trapped her kittens and called Paw Parent for help.

They are currently being fostered and are getting used to people. They are doing much better already and are starting to purr when held and petted.

After all these emergency intakes our bank account has now been depleted. All the money was spend on building the kennels, paying the license fee and the vet bills.

But thanks to people like you we were able to make it thix far in the first place and with your help the sky is our limit.

We also suffered another loss.
Poor, little Twiggy never recovered from her kennel cough and passed on the day we were issued the kennel license.

So instead of opening the bottle of Champagne we opened our tear ducts :(

Little Twiggy is greatly missed but I'm happy we were able to give her lots of love in her final days.

Thank you for your interest and support for Paw Parent. Please visit our web site for our other furry friends in need of loving homes.

Rainbow Over Paw Parent And More Snow after Bingo Night

I was working on my computer today and I noticed it started to rain. Next thing I know I look out the window and everything is white.
This is so unusual, this kind of heavy snowfall twice in the season.

And last week there was the most beautiful rainbow stretching over Paw Parent.

It is wonderful to experience these amazing acts of nature in all their beauty undisturbed by tall buildings or bill boards.

On February 11th Paw Parent had it's second annual Bingo night fundraiser hosted by "Legendary Bingo"

It was such a hoot! For all of you who were able to make it "thank you" and I hope you had a good time and won one of our fabulous prizes.

Paula Malcomson, a huge animal lover, was there to help as a bingo hostess.

"Thank you Paula!"

For all of you who weren't able to come I hope you will be able to make it to the next event.

And now with very mixed feelings the news about the lost dogs. First the bad news: precious, little Sammy went over the rainbow bridge :(

We found evidence that the coyotes had gotten him. The discovery was extremely devastating and traumatic! But at least he didn't have to suffer through the cold, windy and rainy weather. We had a lovely ceremony for him and buried his remains in a grave with a breathtaking view of the valley and the mountains.

Good bye little Sammy! We miss you very much!

The good news are that Fernando was found and caught within hours of his escape. He is safely back at Paw Parent and is waiting for the perfect person and home to adopt him.

Tragedy at Paw Parent

Tragedy has struck Paw Parent. Two dogs that were adopted out to different homes got out and are lost!!

Sammy, a super cute little, black Terrier mix disappeared last week on Thursday January 29th and has not been seen since.

He got adopted to this very nice couple up the road from Paw Parent and we have been frantically searching and posting fliers. No luck so far :(

Fernando who had survived on the mean streets of the San Fernando Valley for years went for a trial with a couple in Aqua Dulce last Sunday February 1st. They live on 5 fenced in acres. I gave them clear instructions on how to handle Fernando in the beginning which were very necessary since he is extremely independent and freedom loving. But despite all efforts he got out today Feruary 4th. The husband tried to catch him but lost sight of him.

I'm beside myself and want to retire from rescue right now!

Anybody who would like to get involved in finding the dogs can please call: 661-724-0642

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

2nd Bingo Bash For Paw Parent, A Grant And Other Great News

2009 holds great promise for Paw Parent and we are moving steadily in the right direction.

After a long struggle Paw Parent's kennel plans have finally been approved by the Department of Regional Planning. Now it is the Department of Animal Control's turn to give its approval. I'm curious to find out what unexpected hoops they have in waiting.

Then there is the the Bingo Night Fundraiser for Paw Parent on February 11th at 7pm in West Hollywood at Hamburger Mary's. It was so much fun last year and I hope we will attract a big crowd. You can view the invitation by going to the following link: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/RFXEVKSESTBTLIPIRHFK/bingo-party

Paw Parent just received our first grant from the Cesar Milan Foundation, yeahh!! Thank you, Cesar! You are awesome :)
I'm a huge fan and always try to be the calm assertive leader. I have ways to go but at least I'm on my way.

And last but not least, the great news about Molly the unbelievable, sweet, playful and affectionate cat. She got adopted by a couple and their 9-year-old son. They love her so much and it is a perfect match.
These moments keep me going as a rescuer.

If you are looking for a new pet please look up our other furry friends in need of good homes.

First Christmas at Paw Parent

Welcome to the Paw Parent blog!

This is a new and exciting way to keep everybody posted on what’s happening here in the boonies. As some of you know, Paw Parent is very young; it has been in existence only since June. It has been very exciting but also very challenging. So much to learn and so much to do!

The work never ends. But is has definitely been very rewarding. To see the animals enjoying themselves on Paw Parent’s five acres, knowing that they are out of harm’s way, is so comforting.

Winter has certainly arrived at Paw Parent, and the dogs experienced their first snow. It was the heaviest snowfall in 20 years! I was more than excited, and so were some of the dogs. They LOVED it! The wind and the cold didn’t seem to bother them in the least, while others like poor old Emily really struggled with it. But the snow is all gone now, except on the nearby mountains.

There are currently three dogs and three cats for adoption here at Paw Parent. If you would like to add a new member to your family, please take a look at them on our For Adoption page. They are all fabulous and cannot wait to make someone a terrific friend.

We will be celebrating our first New Year’s here and are looking forward to all the goals we are trying to achieve in 2009, such as the acquisition of a kennel license and the building of a comfortable and spacious dog kennel. We also would like to reach out more to the area community and see how Paw Parent can be of help.

If any of you would like to volunteer your time to help the animals, please get in touch with us. We are short handed and any extra help is greatly appreciated. We also are in constant need of funds and materials to keep Paw Parent going.

Thank you and happy New Year!